1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a plasma display device that uses a plasma display panel as a display device.
2. Description of Related Art
In recent years, thin display devices have spread rapidly. Such thin display devices are expected to spread more and more in the future and to replace conventional CRTs. Currently, thin display devices usually are placed on the floor as are conventional CRTs. However, in the future, wall-mounted or near-wall installation will become mainstream to take more advantage of the space saving features of the thin display devices.
Meanwhile, in some conventional plasma display devices, as one of the thin display devices, an air inlet and air outlet are provided on a back cover, and internal heat is emitted to the outside by forced convection (ventilation) using a fan. Further, others emit internal heat to the outside by natural convection (ventilation) without a fan.
For example, JP 2003-162228 A discloses a plasma display device 101 as indicated in FIG. 7. In the plasma display device 101, a plasma display panel 102 (hereinafter, abbreviated as “PDP”), a chassis 103 supporting the PDP 102 on its front surface, and a plurality of circuit boards 120 mounted to the back surface of the chassis 103 via bosses are accommodated in a housing constituted by a front cover 108 and a back cover 107. Further, a heat conductive sheet 104 is interposed between the PDP 102 and the chassis 103.
Furthermore, an air inlet 111 is provided in the lower part of the back cover 107 and an air outlet 110 is provided in the upper part thereof. A fan 109 is provided inside the back cover 107 so as to cover the air outlet 110. When the fan 109 is operated, external air is drawn into the back cover 107 through the air inlet 111 as indicated by the arrow a in the figure, while the air inside the back cover 107 is emitted to the outside through the air outlet 110 as indicated by the arrow bin the figure. Thus, the chassis 103 and the circuit boards 120 are cooled by forced convection, and the heat transferred from the PDP 102 through the chassis 103 and the heat in the circuit boards 120 are emitted to the outside.
However, the configuration indicated in FIG. 7 does not allow the internal heat to be emitted sufficiently when the plasma display device 101 is mounted on the wall or placed near the wall, because the airflow into the air inlet 111 and the airflow from the air outlet 110 are hampered by the wall surface being close to or in contact with the back cover 107.